The Realm...
by daredevil
Summary: Goblins, Faith, and a new slayer...What else could go wrong?
1. Faith...

  
The phone rang, it's shrill sound bringing the man to his feet. Walking slowly toward it, he looked around the room to the other people strewn over the furniture. No one made a move to get up. He continued to the phone.  
  
"Hello?" His British accent apparent with his first word.  
  
"Giles? It's me, Angel." The faint voice on the other side was unmistakenly that of Buffy's ex-vampire boyfriend.  
  
"Angel? What's wrong? Why are you calling?" Giles asked anxiously. Buffy, sat up, instantly alert. The others slowly sat up as well. "Oh dear. I understand. Are you sure? Ok. Thank you for calling. We'll see you then. Good bye."  
  
"What did he want?" Buffy asked urgently.  
  
"He didn't want anything. He called to tell us…" Giles trailed off.  
  
"Tell us what?" Willow asked.  
  
"Faith has been paroled. That's what Angel wanted to tell us."  
* * * 


	2. A new slayer...

Buffy Summers and Willow Rosenberg walked by side each other. Willow was quizzing Buffy on an upcoming test. Buffy was dutifully trying to answer, but having no luck. They were on their way to a nearby graveyard to patrol for vampires. As the Slayer, the Chosen One, she had to spend her nights chasing monsters from bad dreams. Buffy killed demons, vampires, and other unknown beasts, it was her job description.   
  
On this particular night, she had heard on the news that a dead body had been found drained of blood. Today it had been buried and tonight it would be reborn into something evil. A vampire. And Buffy would kill it. It would be dead for sure.  
  
They reached the gates of the graveyard, which swayed in the wind. The fact that they were open was unusual, Buffy quickly took out her stake. As did Willow. Armed now, they quietly walked into the graveyard. The first thing they heard was the soft sound of laughter, carried by the wind. Slowly and carefully Buffy and Willow walked toward the noise. Instead of a bunch of dead vampires, they saw two girls and a dog sitting by a gravestone.  
  
  
Crouching down, Buffy motioned for Willow to do the same. They crawled closer. The girls had a few textbooks out in front of them.  
  
  
"I think this is silly. Jill, I don't see why I need to do all this stupid homework! I already know how. I mean, I'm smarter than all of the teachers put together and yet I still have to do this busy work. It's ridiculous." One of the girls said.  
  
  
"Now Alex, It is important to practice the skills you learn. Besides the teachers said you had to do the homework!" Jill replied.  
  
  
Alex scoffed, "Ha! I don't care what they said! I'm not doing it!" She tossed the textbook aside and stood up. Buffy and Willow crouch lower behind a gravestone. Jill rolled her eyes.  
  
  
"Ok Ms. I'm-gonna-throw-a-fit. Maybe you can keep the noise down. Do you want to scare all of them away?" Jill asked sarcastically.  
  
  
"I'm not going to scare them away. They want to fight me. They are not going to chicken out now." Alex replied.  
  
  
"Suppose it's an ambush! What happens if there a whole bunch of them and just you? Won't you be afraid?" Jill asked only half-serious.  
  
  
"Well. There are two of us. I always kick their butt, why should tonight be any different?" Alex began, "And about the scared thing…" Alex started singing, "At first I was afraid, I was petrified…" She began dancing about, soon Jill joined her. They were laughing and cracking themselves up.  
  
  
Suddenly the dog started barking. Three short barks. And then it lay back down. But Jill and Alex stopped goofing around.   
  
  
"I do believe Nanook has smelled evil lurkers… Let's get 'em!" Alex joked but she reached into her bag. And she pulled out a stake. Buffy's mouth dropped in shock.  
  
  
Alex handed Jill a stake and took one out for herself. She also took out an axe, which she handed Jill. She took out a crossbow for herself. Buffy looked on, incredulous, she couldn't believe her eyes. Willow's mouth dropped open.   
  
On cue, six vampires walked up to where Alex and Jill were standing. The were big and muscular, wearing their vampire faces full of anger.  
  
  
"Right on time, boys." Alex laughed.  
  
  
"Only for you, Lady Champion," The closest one said to Alex, "We brought you these as well." One of the vampires brought her a bouquet of wild flowers.  
  
  
"Oh! For me? You shouldn't have! What a thoughtful thing to do! It almost makes me wish I didn't have to kill you!" Alex said, taking the flowers.  
  
  
"It almost makes me wish I didn't have to kill you." The vampire added. Alex smiled sweetly at him and he returned the smile.  
  
  
"Alright. Let's get this done." Alex said, her voice hardening. She handed the flowers to Jill, who laid them beside the textbooks. Taking a fighting position, she nodded at the vampire. He lept at her, she ducked and threw him over her shoulder. He stood up and rushed her again. He kicked her in the stomach, she didn't flinch but dropped to the ground and tripped him. They both got back up and started throwing punches at eachother. She shot her foot out and connected with the man's midsection. He bent over and moaned. She took her stake out and pushed into his heart. She dusted him.   
  
  
Smiling, Alex looked at the other vampires, "Anybody else?" she asked. Jill laughed and shook her head.  
  
  
"No your majesty. Not tonight." One of the vampires said nervously.   
  
  
"You sure? I'd hate to just kill you without a fight." She asked, sarcastically.  
  
  
The vampires looked at eachother and started to run. Alex just shook her head. Jill tossed the crossbow to her.   
  
  
"Buh-bye." Alex shot the cross bow five times, dusting all of the remaining vampires.  
  
  
"Nice, Alex. Now can we please go? Unlike you, I have to get to work tomorrow." Jill whined.  
  
  
"Nice? Oh come on! Nice? I know what you really thought!" Alex said, jokingly.  
  
  
"Oh really? And what is that?" Jill asked slyly.  
  
  
"It was magnificent. Incredible. You've never seen anything like it. You were just awed by my monumental talent…" Alex said dramatically.  
  
  
"You are so full of yourself!" Jill said laughing. "I'm leaving now."  
  
  
"Hey wait up!" Alex ran to catch up with her. Nanook, the dog, lumbered behind them.   
  
  
Buffy looked at Willow, in disbelief. A new slayer? What else could go wrong?  
* * * 


	3. Goblins...

Forgot to add...Buffy and all BtVS characters belong to Joss Wheadon. Alex, Jill and anybody else who doesn't seem familiar to you is from my imagination. --DrewB  
  
"Have you found anything on the computer, Will?" Xander asked, tiredly.  
  
"No. Not a thing. What about you, Giles? Anything?" Willow asked, pushing her hair out of her eyes.  
  
"Unfortunately, I have found no way to kill these Goblins. However you try to kill them, all you end up doing is creating more." Giles said, taking his glasses off and rubbing his eyes.  
  
"We should just bomb them. Bye bye, Goblins!" Anya added, looking helpful.  
  
"Don't you mean 'hello' thousands of tiny Goblins? Each little piece would turn into a new Goblin." Willow said, exasperated.  
  
"Oh. Let's not bomb them. That would be bad." Anya said, down-hearted.  
  
The door of the magic shop opened and in walk a guy dressed in all black. Everyone looked up and they all stared at him for a moment.  
  
"Hello, Angel. Come on in." Giles said slowly.  
  
"Where's Buffy?" Angel asked.  
  
"She and Spike went out for yet another futile fight with the evil Goblins." Anya said, helpfully.  
  
"I know where they went, I'll go get them." Willow said, standing up.  
  
* * *  
  
"So lemme get this straight. There an army of goblins who continue to kick our butts. We have no idea how to stop them since they keep multiplying. Also, Psycho killer is outta jail and you won't tell us where she is? And now there is a new slayer in town and vampires come to her to get killed?" Xander stared hard at Angel.  
  
"Oo. Don't forget the flowers the vampire gave to her." Anya added helpfully.  
  
"Oh yeah. A new slayer who flirts with the vampires before she kills them. Angel, we have enough problems without Faith adding to them. Why don't you just tell us where she is."  
  
"Yeah. Then we can go kill her!" Anya said, excited.  
  
"No. We will not kill Faith." Buffy said as she entered the magic shop. Willow and Spike followed closely behind her.   
  
"Hello, Buffy. We were just discussing with Angel about Faith's whereabouts, so that we might apprehend her with care…" Giles said sheepishly. Buffy stared at him. Angel nodded to Buffy.  
  
"That's my point. I'm not going to tell you where she is because I don't want her in the council's hands." Angel said, tiredly.  
  
"Look, Angel. I promise we will not hurt her, we won't kill her. I just want her in my sight. So I know she's not doing any harm." Buffy said.  
  
"Yeah. Like killing people." Xander added.  
  
"No you look, Buffy. I have Faith in a safe place, with people looking out for her. She's with people who care about her. And that's the important thing. She needs to be loved or she'll go back to who she was before. She wouldn't get it here. You all hate her. This is not a safe environment for her."  
  
"And what about the people she killed. They thought they were in a safe environment. And look what happened. They're dead. Hello? D-E-A-D. Faith is a cold-blooded killer." Willow said angrily.  
  
"And that's where you're wrong, Willow. That's where you all are wrong. Faith is a different person." Angel said softly.  
  
"Whoa. Are you listening to yourself, Angel? We're are talking about Faith, the rogue slayer, who kills people, right? We're all on the same page, right?" Xander asked.  
  
"Angel, where is Faith? Is she in Sunnydale? Is that why you are here? She's here. I can tell from the look on your face. Where is she? Angel. Tell me. Damn it. Angel. Tell me." Buffy said, getting angry.  
  
"She is in Sunnydale. I dropped her off with a friend. She's safe and so is the rest of the world. So calm down." Angel sighed.  
  
"A friend?" Spike spoke for the first time. He snickered. "You've got friends here? Other than Buffy? I find that funny, I've only heard very not nice things about you from your so-called friends."  
  
"Shut up, Spike." Buffy said sharply. "Angel, tell me where she is."  
  
"Sorry, Buffy. I made a promise." Angel said sadly.  
  
"Fine, Angel. You better leave. You're not welcome here anymore." Buffy said, glaring at him. Angel looked at her sadly.  
  
"Ok. I'll be around for a couple of days and then I'm gone." And then he was gone. 


	4. Caught...

Angel walked slowly down a long driveway toward a large mansion. The moon shined brightly, reflecting off a barbwire fence surrounding the yard and the house. Angel looked around. Though they were well hidden through out the grounds, Angel could smell the guards. He passed by them, they made no move to come after him.   
  
He walked up to the door. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a card and handed it into the shadows. A man slipped out of the shadows and slid the card through his machine. Nodding to Angel, he opened the door. Angel walked into the darkness as the door closed behind him.  
  
Beyond the barbed-wire fence, hidden in the bushes, Buffy and the gang watched in disbelief as Angel went into the house.  
  
"What are we waiting for? Let's get closer!" Anya added impatiently.  
  
"Yeah. Come on!" Xander added, starting to move. Buffy shrugged and started to move as well.  
  
"Are you all blind? Or stupid?" Spike asked angrily.  
  
"Excuse me?" Buffy asked, shocked.  
  
"You just want to walk up to The Mansion? Just like that? Do you all have a death wish or what?"  
  
"The Mansion? What is it special or something?" Willow asked  
  
Spike rolled his eyes. "If you don't know already, then you don't need to know. All I'm saying is don't go up there with out a plan."  
  
"Spike, we have no idea what you are talking about." Giles said, exasperated.  
  
"I can't tell you. Here, I'll give you this. Right now, there are fifteen guys out there with their guns trained on you. You've all tripped a silent alarm and in less than ten minutes someone is going to shoot you. I suggest we all leave. As soon as possible, preferably."  
  
"Guns? Uh. That's not good." Xander gulped.  
  
"Did I mention we should be leaving?" Spiked added urgently.  
  
"Freeze! Put your hands up where we can see them. You all are under arrest for tresspassing. Make any sudden moves and we will be forced to fire." A voice, behind them, said.  
  
"Too late now. We're goners for sure." Spike lamented.  
  
"Ah. Don't shoot!" Xander shrieked as he put up his arms. 


	5. A suprise...

note...i would love reviews. they're my favorite! and oh yeah, don't forget about all that copyright stuff. :P  
  
Seated in the office, Buffy and her friends stared nervously at the guns pointed at them. They waited for what seemed like an eternity when the door flew open. The soldiers saluted the woman as she walked in. "Lady Ann, these are the trespassers. We have done no interview yet, as you asked." The soldier said humbly.  
  
"Thank you, that will be all. Leave." Lady Ann said, dismissing the soldiers with a wave of her hand.  
  
Ann stared at the prisoners coldly. "Trespassing is illegal. Did you not see the signs? You are foolish. Foolishness is unacceptable in the real world. It's about time that criminals were taught a lesson. You will be punished according to the law." She glared at them.  
  
Xander gulped. But before he could say anything the door flew open. A girl walked in.   
  
"Lawbreakers, my favorite! And nobody told me? Who do we have today?" The girl looked at them. Buffy's mouth dropped open. Willow gasped. The girl was the new slayer they had seen in the graveyard. Before the girl could say anything more, Lady Ann broke in. "This doesn't concern you, Alex. Please leave."  
  
"Honey, you can't order me around like your slave boys. Soon you'll be dealing with my lady soldiers. They don't like getting order around by the queen's spoiled daughter. So this does concern me. I am in a higher rank than you are. Sarah left me in charge and you know it. So scat!"  
  
Lady Ann reddened, "My mother will hear of this!" She turned on her heels and left.  
  
"So…What do we have here? Trespassers?" Alex shook her head and looked at Giles, "I can see a bunch of kids wanting to party somewhere…but mister…you're an adult. What were you thinking? Y'all picked the wrong place to have a party…"  
  
"You're the new slayer!" Willow exclaimed.  
  
"A rather vulgar term, but yes…hey wait a minute…how did you know that? Who are you?"  
  
"Uh…Well I'm Buffy and these are my friends." Buffy said slowly.  
  
"Buffy…Buffy…Why does that name ring a bell?" Alex asked, pondering.  
  
A commotion outside interrupted Alex's thinking. The door opened and Jill entered. "Alex, the queen's back and she's not looking happy." More people entered. A woman and a man walked in. Buffy looked shocked.  
  
"Angel! What are you doing here?" Buffy exclaimed.  
  
"I could ask the same about you." Angel said, smiling.  
  
"Angel, dear, would you introduce me to your friends?" the woman asked.  
  
"Dear?" Buffy asked, sarcastically.  
  
"Sarah, this Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Her friends, Willow, Xander, Anya, Spike, Tara, and Giles."  
  
"Oh my! The Slayer! What a honor it is to meet you!" Sarah exclaimed.  
  
"She's the vampire slayer you were talking about?" Alex asked, incredulous, "I thought she'd look more bad or something."  
  
"Angel, what is going on?" Giles asked, impatiently.  
  
"This is Alex, the Lady Champion of the Realm." Angel answered.  
  
"The Realm? But that's just a fairy tale…" Giles trailed off.  
  
"Obviously not." Alex snapped.  
  
Outside a voice boomed, "Make way for the Queen! Make way for the Queen!" Then the door flew open. A large group of people poured into the room. Dressed magnificently, like a queen, the woman at the front of the group, glared at Alex.   
  
"Your majesty." Alex said, bowing.   
  
"Destiny Alexis Brimmer, you rudely addressed my daughter, the future queen. How dare you!" The queen yelled at Alex. "I do not care if you hold a higher rank, you will treat Lady Ann with respect. Do you understand? And as for your 'commando girls', they will obey me or they will be exiled from the Realm. Do you understand that? E-X-I-L-E."  
  
"Your majesty, I believe your daughter misunderstood me. I only meant that I would be better qualified to handle this situation. Lady Ann was ready to turn these people over to the authorties. This is the slayer and her friends, they will make good allies. As for my women's army, we need as much help as we can get." Alex smiled, knowing that she had won the argument.  
  
"I can vouch for their loyalty, your majesty." Angel added helpfully.  
  
"Angel, I trust your wisdom. If you say they are loyal, then I say they are loyal. Sarah, we will discuss Alex's behavior at a later time. That will be all." The Queen nodded at them all and swept out of the room. 


	6. The Realm...

note...all that copyright stuff. The Realm is also an idea of my imagination along with all my characters. :P  
  
Alex, Sarah, and everybody else had left, leaving Angel and the Scooby gang all alone in the office. Everyone was glaring at Angel. He just smiled.  
  
"I'm surprised to find you here, Buffy. I guess you followed me? I should have known. This isn't a very safe place for the Council's sole slayer to be. There is a prejudice against the Council here at the Realm. They don't exactly get along." Angel said.  
  
"Excuse me…Just what is the Realm?" Xander said, interrupting Angel.  
  
"Well, in legend it was created before the time of humans by a demon named Tishcar. He was not evil. He was the first fighter against evil. See, back then most demons weren't evil but the ones that were, they were really evil. Tishcar and his band of do-gooders fought back against evil. But Abbeworth, the worst demon, had created a poison that turned demons evil. That made the bad demons outnumber the good ones. At about this same time humans were created. Abbeworth made the first vampire and Tishcar taught a group of people how to stop the demons and vampires. These people called the gypsies started giving vampires back their souls. Tishcar built them villages under the ground so that they could live without fear of the sun. Those were the first Realms. The Realm is a safe harbor for those who are being persecuted or recovering. We harbor vampires with souls, good demons, those with supernatural powers and runaways." Angel stopped and took a breath. "Phew, that's a mouthful." He smiled.  
  
"So what, you're a member or something?" Anya asked.  
  
"You could say that. I designed this Realm and the Realm in L.A. They helped me deal with my soul when I was first cursed."  
  
"You never said anything about this." Buffy said sadly.  
  
"When you join the Realm, you sign a confidentiality agreement. You're not allowed to talk about it. A fate worse than death is the punishment if you do." Angel said laughing.  
  
The door opened again. Alex, Jill, and Sarah walked in. Sarah looked pleased but Alex was obviously pouting. The three just stood there until Jill poked Alex in the ribs. She sighed.  
  
"As the Lady Champion of the Realm, and in the tradition of friendship, you all are all invited to witness the Realm and its power." Alex said, grudgingly.  
  
"Huh?" Xander muttered.  
"Do y'all want a tour or what?" Alex snapped. Jill jabbed her arm in to Alex's ribs again. "It would be a honor if you would accompany us on a tour." She sighed again.  
  
"Uh. Yes. It would be a honor for us as well." Giles said, recognizing a formal invitation when he saw one. Everyone stood up and headed out of the office. 


	7. A warm welcome...

They walked through giant hallways and beautiful rooms. Then they walked into the foyer. A big round room with a giant crystal chandelier. It was very bright, lights lined the round ceiling. Angel led the procession. Jill walked beside him, chatting softly with Anya. Buffy, Giles, Willow and Xander huddled together, talking softly to one another.  
  
"What just happened?" Xander asked.  
  
"Yes, everything seems to move very fast here." Giles sighed.  
  
"Do you think Faith is here?" Buffy asked anxiously.  
  
"Yes. I would believe so." Giles answered.  
  
They began to walk down another hallway but turned abruptly and started down a staircase. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Angel opened a door. They walked out into a huge underground courtyard. A sharp noise from the back of the group interrupted their conversation. Sarah and Alex were heatedly arguing.  
  
"Sarah. This isn't right."  
  
"Alex. Listen to me."  
  
"No. Sarah. You listen to me. You know who they are. You know what they did." Alex said angrily.  
  
"Don't take that tone with me. I don't care what rank you have." Sarah answered, her voice low with anger.  
  
Alex looked ashamed and stared at the ground.  
  
"Alex, I understand that you have reservations about them…"  
  
"Reservations? Reservations? Is that what you call stabbing someone in the gut? She kills all the other slayers around her!" Alex was immediately angry again.   
  
Buffy looked down at the ground. She remembered the day she had stabbed Faith, watching her jump off the roof. She remembered that day with shame. Angel looked back at Buffy and motioned to Jill to stop the group. They were all standing in a large hallway in the big mansion.  
  
"I think we need to clear the air first, before we go down to the Realm." Angel said loudly. Loud enough that Alex and Sarah stared at him.  
  
"I agree. We can't have this arguing when we are inside the Realm. It wouldn't look good for Alex or Buffy."  
  
Alex looked pissed. "There is no problem here."  
  
"Yeah. And I've met the Easter Bunny." Xander added sarcastically.  
  
"Oo. I've met him. He's not exactly a bunny. But whatever." Anya said. Everyone sighed. Alex suddenly smiled.  
  
"Instead of a big argument, why don't we just agree to disagree? I don't like Buffy. Y'all think that I should like her. Point taken. My mind's still made up."  
  
"I think you should give her a second chance." Sarah said slowly.  
  
"Yeah. Like she did with Faith?"  
  
"Wait a minute! How did I blow through my first chance? I've never met you! How could I possible have done anything to you?" Buffy asked angrily.  
  
"What have you done?! Done?!" Alex said getting angry.  
  
"Alex. Calm down. She doesn't understand." Angel said urgently.  
  
Footsteps were heard coming down the hallway, everybody immediately quieted down. Four military men appeared and nodded at Alex. She and Sarah quickly walked toward them. Quietly, in a huddle, the men whispered to Sarah and Alex. Suddenly Alex gasped and stepped backwards. Sarah caught her and started talking to her very fast. Alex shook her head and pulled herself out of Sarah's grip. She pushed through the military men and started running down the hall. The military men nodded at Sarah and quickly followed Alex. Sarah walked slowly toward the group. She motioned to Angel. He walked over to her. She whispered something to him and turned to the group.  
  
"If you'll excuse Alex and me, something has come up. Angel can finish up the tour." She nodded at Giles and followed after the military men.  
  
"Uh. What just happened?" Xander asked.  
  
Angel sighed. He looked around, "Welcome to the Realm," he said slowly. 


	8. Confusion...

"Somebody better start doing some explaining real fast or I'm gonna get upset." Buffy said, staring at Angel.  
  
"And we wouldn't want you to get upset, Buffy." Jill added sarcastically.  
  
"Why is everybody being so mean to me? I've never met any of you! And you all act like I've killed your first born!" Buffy said angrily.  
  
"I don't have any children, thank you very much." Jill said smiling.  
  
"If you all don't like us, why are you even showing us this place?" Willow asked.  
  
"That is a good question. Don't look at me! It wasn't my decision." Jill said, laughing.  
  
"It was a decision that Alex, Sarah and I made. It was decided that we'd rather have you as friends, not suspicious neighbors." Angel said.  
  
"These are your friends, right? Faith is here, isn't she?" Buffy demanded to know.  
  
"Yes, Faith is here." Angel said, wearily. The gang looked up, surprised.  
  
"I want to see her." Buffy, again, demanded.  
  
"Not possible." Jill said, quickly.  
  
"Why not? Why would you all take in one Council's slayer and hate the other?" Tara asked, confused.  
  
"Faith? A Council's slayer? Huh?" Jill asked, even more confused than Tara.  
  
"Are we even talking about the same person?" Xander asked.  
  
"There's some major miscommunication going on, why don't we finish the tour and we'll talk then…" Angel said, uncomfortably.  
  
"No. I want to know what's going on. And I want to know now." Buffy said, her voice as hard as nails.  
  
"Yeah. Me too." Jill said thoughtfully.  
  
"Why do I get the sense that we're all being jacked around here?" Xander said, suspiciously. They all turned and stared at Angel. He shifted from foot to foot and cleared his throat.  
  
"Uh…Well…Um…" Angel stuttered.  
  
"Look. I don't care what Alex said you couldn't say. I want to see Faith. Now." Buffy said, glaring at Angel.  
  
Angel sighed. "Fine. Come along." 


	9. Reunion...

"You're not really going to let them see her, are you?" Jill asked quietly.  
  
"Yes. I am. They have a right to see her. And besides they wouldn't give up until they saw her anyway." Angel said, looking toward Buffy.  
  
They walked through the courtyard into a large hall. The Scooby gang stared at everything, amazed that something like this could have been here with out their knowledge.  
  
"This place is huge!" Xander exclaimed.  
  
"Oh this? The one in England is twice as big as this one. And the one in New York is even bigger." Jill said.  
  
"Jill is such a modest person, this Realm is one of the best in the world, thanks to her and the other girls." Angel added with a smile.  
  
"How sweet. But both you and I know that if Alex and Faith hadn't have come along, we'd still be a stopping point to the Realm in LA. Thanks to them, the Queen uses this as a vacation spot." Jill replied.  
  
"Faith? Helped with this?" Willow asked, astonished.  
  
"Yeah, why does that some unusual to you?" Jill, said looking at her.  
  
"Well…In my experience, Faith sorta destroys stuff. She wasn't really a builder type person…" Willow said, fumbling with her words.  
  
"Oh. You mean the killing of innocent people. That's ok. You can say it out loud. Everybody knows what she did. It's ok." Jill said, matter-of-fact.  
  
"You say it like she just went and picked some flowers or something. She killed people." Buffy said, glaring at Jill.  
  
"Buffy, my dear, I wouldn't be talking. According to the laws of the Realm, you've killed your fair share of people too. I don't see you turning yourself in." Jill said with a small smile.  
  
"I haven't killed anybody!" Buffy said angrily.  
  
"Oh really?" Jill asked.  
  
"Buffy, calm down. Jill is right. According to the laws of the Realm, killing anybody with a soul is the same as killing an innocent." Angel said.  
  
"I haven't killed anybody with a soul!" Buffy said.  
  
"How would you know if they had a soul or not? It's not like they wore a badge that says, 'Don't kill me, I've got a soul.'" Willow added.  
  
"That's a good point. Buffy didn't know which vampires had souls and which ones didn't. And that's why she's not in custody right now." Angel said, staring hard at Jill.  
  
"All I'm saying is that Buffy is no better than Faith. And if you ever want Alex to trust you, you've gotta see that. 'Cause right now, your arrogance is apparent to everybody and especially Alex. And she doesn't like that." Jill said.  
  
"Ooo…Alex doesn't like that. How scary!! I'm so scared!" Xander said sarcastically.  
  
Spike shook his head, "Mate, you don't get it. Take Buffy's strength, Willow's and Tara's power, Anya's inner demon, and my lack of a conscience. Now multiply that by ten. That's what Alex is. She is the most powerful person in the four corners of the World."  
  
"I couldn't have said it better myself, Spike. If only you had a soul, we'd be a great couple." Jill said sarcastically, "So Xander, in conclusion, you don't want to piss Alex off. It wouldn't be a pretty picture."  
  
Xander gulped. Buffy looked a little scared.  
  
Jill continued, "Which brings me to another point, Angel. Alex specifically asked you not to let them see Faith. And here we are. Heading over to see Faith. I do believe that you are disobeying a direct order. A nice reason for Alex to get pissed off. And as we all realize that making Alex unhappy is not a good thing…I don't understand why we are still heading over there…"  
  
Buffy's face hardened, "I need to talk to Faith. I don't care what Alex has to say about it." Jill shrugged.   
  
By this time they had made into the Hospital wing. Angel herded them into a small room with a large window. Through the window they could see a number of doctors circled around a bed.  
  
"This is one of those windows where we can see through but they can't." Angel explained.  
  
"Hey look, there's Alex and Sarah." Tara said. Alex and Sarah were talking in a corner with one of the doctors. Sarah had her hands on Alex's shoulders. Alex had her face in her hands and seemed to be crying.  
  
"This is very hard on Alex. We weren't sure she could talk to Faith again. I guess we'll see if she can, today." Jill said, "Rumor has it that Faith stopped taking her meds while she was in jail. And now she's dying."   
  
"My my, how rumors fly at this place," Angel sighed and continued, "Faith refused to take her medication for her diabetes and for her heart condition and she passed out on the way back here. She's not dying, she's just unconscious."  
  
"Can we hear what they are saying?" Xander asked.  
  
"Yeah, sure." Jill said and flipped a switch on the small speaker on the wall.   
  
"Hey Doc, when is she gonna wake up?" Alex asked, wiping the tears from her eyes and moving toward the bed.  
  
"Any time now. She's just sleeping so whenever you want me to wake her up." The Doctor replied.  
  
"Alex, you ready for this? Do you want me to get Angel?" Sarah asked, concerned.  
  
"No. That's ok. I've gotta do this by myself." Alex said softly.  
  
"That's my girl." Angel whispered softly. Buffy was the only one who caught it and she glanced at Angel and smiled.  
  
"Ok, people, let's move out." Sarah said, motioning toward the door.  
  
All but the doctor and Alex left the room. The doctor pulled out some smelling salt and waved it in front of Faith's nose. She coughed and moaned.  
  
"She's waking up, if you need anything I'll be right outside." The doctor said gently. He placed one hand on her shoulder and looked at her, "You can do this." Alex nodded and gave a weak smile. He left the room, leaving only Alex and Faith.  
  
Alex pulled up a chair and sat by the bed. Slowly Faith started to move. Finally she blinked her eyes and sat up. Her eyes moved about the room until she saw Alex. Her eyes immediately began to water.  
  
"Lex…" Faith started but Alex interrupted her. Alex stood quickly and grabbed Faith in a bear hug.  
  
"Faith, I missed you so much…so much…" Alex cried into Faith's shoulder.  
  
Faith lifted Alex's head and moved a strand of hair out of Alex's face. "Me too, kiddo…" And Faith started crying. 


	10. Revelation...

The door opened to the room. Everyone stared at its opening and cringed when Sarah walked in. She glared at all of them and finally looked at Angel.  
  
"Angel. Are you out of your mind? Do you know what Alex will do if she catches you? I don't care what kind of relationship you two have, nothing will protect you if she finds out that you were watching." Sarah demanded to know.  
  
"You were watching, is she going to hurt you too?" Anya asked.  
  
Sarah glared at her again, "No, Alex gave me permission. On the other hand, she strictly forbid Angel from letting you all watch."  
  
"Oops…" Angel said sheepishly.  
  
"Oops? Oops is not going to save your ass, Angel." Sarah said, though her angry face was faltering as she tried to keep as straight face.  
  
"I thought it was important for them to understand." Angel replied.  
  
"Understand what?" Willow wanted to know.  
  
"Oh yeah, Angel. I can see that they understand completely." Sarah said sarcastically.  
  
"What are we suppose to understand?" Willow asked again.  
  
"Angel, you better come with me. Let's go tell Alex who dropped in for a visit…" Sarah said with a hint of fear in her voice, "Jill, stay here with our guests. Don't let them cause any more trouble."  
  
Angel and Sarah left the room. Jill stared down at her feet. Xander looked angry.  
  
"Why are we being blamed for the trouble? Angel was the one who brought us down here." He said angrily.  
  
"You're not getting blamed for the trouble. See Angel going to see Alex? He's going to go accept the blame for bringing you all down here. Don't worry. Your pretty little selves are blame-free."  
  
"Hey!" Xander exclaimed, "Why are you so angry at us all of a sudden?"  
  
"You still don't get it, do you? Alex is a cold-blooded killer. Nobody disobeys her and lives to tell about it." Jill said bitterly.  
  
"A cold-blooded killer? That girl? C'mon. Give me a break. I bet Buffy could kick her ass any day…" Xander vented.  
  
"And I bet not." Spike said, interrupting Xander, "Look, I despise Angel but even I feel sorry for him."  
  
"Are you saying she's going to kill him?" Buffy asked suddenly.  
  
"I doubt it. Not in front of Faith, at least." Spike replied.  
  
"Yeah. Alex would never do anything to Angel in front of Faith. Faith has no idea how much of a killer Alex is. And I doubt Alex is interested in showing that side of herself to Faith right now." Jill said.  
  
"Alex looks like a harmless kitten. Besides, Faith is a cold-blooded killer, too." Xander persisted.  
  
"Obviously it runs in the family." Spike said and laughed. Jill smiled.  
  
"I don't get it." Anya said.  
  
"Wait a minute. Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Willow asked.  
  
"Well…It depends on what you're thinking…because I doubt you're thinking what I'm thinking…unless you're dreaming about some hot blood and a nice Jacuzzi…" Spike replied with a smile.  
  
"Faith and Alex are related aren't they? That's what you meant about it running in the family!" Anya said triumphantly, "I get it now! Ha! Ha! I get the joke!"  
  
"Related?!" Willow said, incredulously.  
  
"Yeah. Sure they are. They're sisters. Duh." Jill replied with an edge of disdain in her voice.  
  
"Faith and Alex are sisters?" Buffy asked, astonished. Everybody else looked at everybody else. What else could possible go wrong? 


End file.
